Flu season is not on the horizon, it's here! Already we've hit the early wave of cold and flu viruses that herald the sick-season. And if you watch the news even a little bit, we've got swine flu to deal with on top of everything else. So what can you do to avoid getting sick over the next four months? Here's a quick but good list:

Wash your hands… a lot

Keep your hands away from your eyes, nose, and mouth as much as possible

Get a flu shot

Wash your hands—seriously, very often

Stay away from sick people

Use teleconferencing

Nope, I'm not joking about that last one, especially as it ties in so neatly with the one above it. Using and encouraging the use of conference calls, web conferencing, and video conferencing can reduce the loss of productivity that flu season usually causes. How can teleconferencing do this? Well…

On one hand, there are times when a sick employee at home is feeling better, even though they're still contagious. Well, they don't have to do nothing if they don't want to. They can still attend the meeting, or brainstorm with their team.

And on the other hand, it's obvious that someone needs to stay home when they're feeling sick, but sometimes when someone feels okay, they might go to the office, even thought they could still be contagious. This means that any sales call, meeting, or even water cooler chat can be an unsuspecting ground zero for the flu. That one almost better employee can send five or ten others home with the flu!

But with teleconferencing available, that sick employee can stay home and still be a productive part of the office, and you and all your employees are protected from catching the flu… at least from that one person.